Schedule-holder.



PATENTED FEB. 24,*190s'.

0. F. 'PIDGIN. I SCHEDULE HOLDER. v APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1899. 10MODEL. 2 SHEETS-.SHI IE T lvl.

PATENTED FEB. 24, 1903.

C. F. PIDGINL SCHEDULE HOLDER.

ABPLIGATION FILED JUNE 22 1899.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

u IF, A ha y no MODEL.

ill

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. PIDGIN, OF" BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SCHEDULE-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming :part of Letters Patent No. 721,386, datedFebruary 24, 1903.

Application filed June 22,1899.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. PIDGIN,of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Schedule-Holders, of which the following isaspecification.

This invention has for its object to provide a copy or schedule holderfor use in the tabulation of statistical and other items.

In transferring items from a printed or written schedule in which theyare, arranged in rows, both longitudinally and vertically of the sheet,it is of great assistance to the tabulator or operator to have thescheduleholder so constructed and arranged that only those items whichare to be transferred or copied are exposed to view. For instance, ifaschedule contains in vertical columns facts or items relating to thesex, color, place of nativity, conjugal condition, and the age period ofantindividual, together with relation to head of family, occupation,number of months in the year during which he is employed, his degree ofilliteracy, and his length of residence in a town or city, and thetabulator Wishes to transferjor record only a certain number of thoseitems relating to each person by covering the columns in which theitemswhich are not to be transferred or recorded occur, those which areto be'transferred or recorded are left visible and may be seen at aglance, and attention is not drawn to the other parts of a line ofitems, the reading of which is unnecessary.

This invention consists of a schedule-holder having provisions forreceiving andfeedi'ng a wide schedule or shee t and provided with meansfor obscuring or rendering invisible those columns of items which it isunneces-. sary to transfer or record; and it also consists f of aschedule-holder having certain features of construction and relativearrangement of parts, all as I have illustrated upon the drawings,described in the following specification, and particularized in theappended claims.

Referring to the drawings which form apart of this specification andon'which similar reference characters indicate similar parts orfeatures, as the case maybe, wherever they occur, Figure 1 represents infront elevation a schedule-holder embodying my invention. Fig. 2represents a plan view of Serial No. 721,484. (No model.) i

the" same. Fig. 3 represents a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 represents a similar section onthe line 4 4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig.5'represents in perspective view one of the obscuring slips or devicesby means of which a column of items on a schedule is rendered invisibleto the tabulator. Fig. 6 is a'detail.

Referring to; the drawings, which portray one embodiment oftheinvention, there is shown a frame which is box-like in form, the samecomprising a bottom or, end standards a, a back a and a top or table aall suitably "connected together by suitable fastening. devices. Theparticular formation of the frame is of course immaterial save in so faras'it is adapted to permit thepassage through the top plate or table ofa schedule or other sheet of paper containing in columns and transverserows a series of numbers, symbols, or other characters representingstatistical orother items.

One form of schedule which may be passed through the machine is shown inFig. l as consisting of a sheet b of paper having a plu-v cate the sex:of an individual, hiseligibility.

as avoter, his color or race, his conjugal condition,'&c. This sheet maybe coiled within thebox or frame and is fed upward through 'an aperturein the table-between feed-rolls c c, which arepreferably shod withrubber or other suitable substance capable of frictionally engaging theschedule. Each roll is provided with trunnions, those'for the roll 0being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 as c 0 while those for theroll 0 are indicated in the same figure as 0 The trunn'ions c c arejournaled in brackets 0 which are secured by screws 0" to the under sideof the table a and those indicatedat c c are jour- ICO naled in similarbrackets 0 fastened by screws 0 in a similar way; but the apertures inthe brackets 0 through which the screws c pass, are elongated so thatsaid brackets maybe adjusted by screws 0 to move the roll 0' relativelyto the roll c. located in the aperture a in the table a and they aregeared together by gear-wheels d, rigidly secured to the trunnions c 0so that when one of the rolls is rotated the other is rotated in theopposite direction. A ratchet e is rigidly secured to the trunnion c ofthe roll 0', and a pawl e for engaging the said ratchet and imparting astep-by-step movement thereto is pivoted loosely upon a lever f, whichis fulcrumed upon a stud f in a bracket f secured to the top of thetable (L The lever is held in a raised position against a stop f by aspring f, as best shown in Fig. 3, and when said lever is depressed thepawl e engages the ratchet eand moves said ratchet forward one step tocause the rotation of the feeding-rolls c c to feed a schedule upwardbetween them, so that it will be visible above the table a The stop f asshown in Fig. 2, consists of a bent strip of metal projecting forwardlyto limit the upward movement of the lever and is secured by a screw f tothe bracket f The forward end of the leverf is swelled somewhat to forma key, which may be manipulated by the hand of the tabulator, and it isroughened on its upper surface, as shown in Fig. 2. As the schedulerises between the feeding-rolls it is guided by a backing-plate g, whichis arranged transversely of the machine and parallel to the rolls and islocated substantially tangentially to the rolls, as shown in Figs. 3 and-l. Midway between its ends its lower portion is secured to a brace g,which in turn is secured by ascrew to the table, and at its ends it isformed with clips g g which are secured to a rod g formed on or securedto curved struts g g. (See Figs. 2, 3, and 4.) Additional braces g aresecured to the ends of said backing-plate at its lower edge, and theirrear ends bear against the struts 9 so that said plate is heldstationarily to form a platen for the schedule when the marking deviceis thrust against it.

In order to hold aschedule against the backing-plate and also to coverup all of the lower portion of the schedule below the line which it isdesired to read, I employ a gage consisting of a strip of metal h, whichishinged at h h to the top of the table and is inclined, as shownparticularly in Fig. 4. The upper edge of the gage comes directly'uponone of the transverse lines in the schedule, so as to guide the gaze ofthe tabulator thereto. A smaller strip [L2 of metal is secured by screwsor rivets 72.3 along its outer edge to the upper face of the metallicstrip h, and it extends substantially the entire width of the schedule.This strip of metal forms a spring member or clip, and between its freeedge and the gage it may be secured the obscuring devices to These rollsare which I have previously referred. (See Fig. 6.) Said devices eachcomprise a small piece or slip 1'- of metal, as shown in Fig. 5, whichis bent between its ends, so that it will conform to the angle formed bythe backingplate 9 and the gage 72., as shown' in Fig. 4. The bentportion 2" lies against the schedule, as shown in Fig. 1, and it coversa portion of the line of items, which is directly above the free edge ofthe metallic strip h. These obscuring devices 2' vary in width toconform to the width of the columns which they are designed to cover,and they are kept in a suitable box or receptacle d located within theframe, as shown in Fig. 1. As shown, these obscuring devices covercolumns 1, 4, 8,12, 13, 15, 19, 22, 23, and 25, so that the tabulatortabulates or transfers these items in the lines which are uncovered, sothat she is not compelled to distinguish between the various columns inselecting the items for transfer or tabulation. When the tabulation ofone particular group of items is completed, the obscuring devices may bereplaced by others to cover other columns and a second group transferredor tabulated until all of the items in. the various columns have beentaken off.

1 have found it of great advantage to indicate upon the schedule eachgroup of items transferred or tabulated and arrange for this being doneby a marking device connected to the schedule-holder and movabletransversely of the schedule. The marking device consists of a stamp(indicated generally at It") and may be any one of the well-knowndevices now employed for such purposes. As shown, it consists of aU-shaped frame j, having a forwardly-projecting rod 3' on which a handlej slides. The handle is connected by a U- shaped strip j with atype-barf, which normally rests against a printing-pad secured in theframe j. By suitable devices which are well known in the art thetype-bar is given a half-turn when the handlej is pressed inward tobring the type against the schedule. The framej is provided with a guideto receive an angular rod m, secured at its ends in brackets an,attached to the metallic strip h. Consequently the stamping device maybe moved from edge to edge of the schedule and is held in operativeposition to permit of the stamping or marking of any one of the columnsthereon. Each item may be marked as it is tabulated or transferred, oreach group of items may be checked by stamping a certain column, or elseeach column of items or characters may be checked as it is completed,showing that the work has been accomplished.

' From this description it will be seen that I have provided aschedule-holder which is of the greatest aid and assistance whentabulating, transferring, or tallying items, numbers, or characters froma printed or written schedule. The work or schedule is held upright infront of the operator, and it is advanced step by step as occasionrequires by depress- IIO ing the key or lever f. As the sheet is raisedit bends backward by gravity over the rod g and thence behind the mainframe. For the purpose of feeding in the sheet or schedule between therollers the trunnion c of the roll 0 is projected beyond the side of theframe and is formed with a hand-wheel n, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, andby turning said wheel both rolls may be rotated, and in case it bedesired to reverse the movement of the sheet the'pawl 8 may be liftedfrom engagement with the ratchet to permit a reverse rotation of therolls. The sheet is guided upward after it leaves the rolls by theinclined strip? and the backing-plate g, which are assisted by theobscuring devices or slips 1, and when the stamping or marking device ispressed against the sheet the plate 9 forms a platen to resist itsthrust.

Where a schedule is too wide for insertion in the holder, the strip or.gage may be removed and used separately, in which case it will be laiddirectly upon the schedule (with the obscuring devices arranged to coverthe columns not being transferred or added) and moved downward line byline. The slips may be bent to have their free ends rest on theschedule.

Having thus explained the nature of the in-' vention and described a wayof constructing and using the same, although without attempting to setforth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes ofits use, I declare that what I claim is Y 1. A device of the characterspecified, comprising devices for longitudinally feeding a schedule orsheet, a gage arranged transversely of the path of movement of saidschedule or sheet, and obstructing devices supported adj ustably on saidgage for covering one or more portions of the schedule disclosedthereby.

2. A device of the character specified, comprising devices forlongitudinally feeding a schedule or sheet, a gage arranged transverselyof the path of movement of said schedule or sheet, and devices carriedby said gage for covering one or more portions of the schedule, saiddevices being independently detachable.

3. A device of the character specified, comprising devices for feeding aschedule or sheet, a gage, and metallic slips adjustably connected tosaid gage for covering predetermined portions of the gage, said slipsbeing independently adjustable.

4. A device of the character specified, comprising devices for feedingaschedule or sheet, a gage having a spring member attached thereto, andone or more slips detachably secured to the gage by said spring memberand adapted to cover predetermined portions of the schedule.

5. A schedule-holder comprisingfeedingrolls, means for imparting aLstep-by-step movement to said rolls, a hinged gage in front of saidrolls, having its free edge movable toward and from the rolls, andindependentlyadjustable obscuring devices carried by said gage. v V

6. A schedule-holder comprising feedingrolls, means for rotating saidrolls, a backingplate above said rolls, a gage coacting with said platefor guiding the schedule-after it leaves the roll, and independentobscuringslips supported by said gage.

7. .A schedule-holder comprising a frame adapted to receive a schedule,means for feed- CHARLES F. PIDGIN.

Witnesses:

MARCUS B. MAY, 0. C. STEcnER.

